Vacation Countdown

126 days

That's right. The countdown to our vacation is on. 126. That seems like a really small number when I think of it that way. 4 months sounds horrible.

The other night I booked this year's family vacation. Where to you ask?

I'll give you some hints.

Hint #1

Amazing ocean view and sandy beaches

.....really narrows it down, doesn't it? ;)

Hint #2

I fell in love with snorkeling in Australia, but this trip I will learn to scuba dive!

Crystal clear yet? Well, the waters there will be! :)

Hint #3

Ruins are all over the place. Will definitely be visiting these!

Getting warmer? Yeah, it'll be warm there too! :)


.....


.........


.................


Okay, okay....we're headed to....

COZUMEL!

We really couldn't be more excited! Although we didn't get to pick our trip dates so much as the dates picked us (we'll be going July 2-9 when the company I work for has our Summer Shutdown and is a mandated vacation week), but a Mexican getaway to the beautiful isle of Cozumel is just what the doctor ordered.

Some family and friends were hoping to go, but alas....it was a no go. So it'll just be mom, Jen, and I. Those of you who know us, know that it will be a blast and of course, many pictures and stories will be presented when we return for your entertainment!

5 Question Friday

1. Can you drive a stick shift?
Absolutely! Learned how to drive on a stick shift...oh the stories! ha ;) If you know my sister, you should ask her how it was to ride with me when I learned how to stop! hahahahaha

2. What are two foods you just can't eat?
hmmm...I've had to think on this one. One thing I really despise is spaghetti noodles. I know, it's totally weird, right? I can't help it. They remind me of worms. UGH! Nasty, slimy texture that I just can't handle.

And the other food I just won't eat is lima beans. Ick! My sister loved 'em when we were little and would eat them on top of mashed potatoes. Just thinking of it makes me wanna gag!

3. Do you buy Girl Scout Cookies? What is your favorite kind?
Oh this is definitely a Girl Scout cookie buying house...it doesn't hurt that I grew up selling them! Of course, this year, I've been very good and have only had a few of my absolute favorites....SAMOAS! Just thinking about them makes me hungry for one. Darn diet. ha

4. How do you pamper yourself?
Pedicures. Having my nails done. Just can't live without either one. I've had acrylic nails off and on (mostly on) since I was a junior in high school. And I try to make time (and find the extra cash) for a pedicure at least every 6 weeks, but in the summer, once a month. So relaxing...and entertaining!

5. What is your nickname and how did you get it?
I've had multiple nicknames. The most popular ones are probably E, E1 or EE. Growing up, my sister always called me EE. Now that I'm grown up, everyone kinda sticks with E. Although I'm also E1 to the family because my cousin married an E (we are both Erin M. Menchhofer), so she's E2. Glad I have an awesome person to share my name with!

Jenna's Belated Birthday

So yesterday we spent the day in Indy with Jenna and some friends...

The day started out looking for a used car for Jenna. The first place, Penske Chevrolet, was a strike-out. To anyone looking for a car, do NOT go there. Rude. Crappy cars. Let me tell you I let them know what I thought before we left. Do not mess with me. (haha) We then went to Andy Mohr Buick and had a wonderful experience. They reminded me a lot of Tom Gill Chevrolet, which is where I bought my new car. We ended up finding Jenna's new (to her) car!

Here's the happy girl and her new wheels. A 2006 Pontiac G6.


After getting the keys, we drove to Scotty's Brewhouse for lunch with friends. Reid, Nicole, Sara, Fei, Jen, mom and I all enjoyed our yearly birthday trek....the food is ALWAYS delicious. And as usual, I doubt our waitress (also named Erin) will forget us very quickly. haha ;) There's nothing like a 2 hour leisurely lunch with a fun group of friends!

Then Jenna and I went to our favorite place for pedicures. It's a good thing I don't live next door to there anymore because I'd probably get a pedicure every week! :)

Mom and I then ventured home. Mom drove Jenna's Neon home, as she'll be driving it to work from now on since it gets better gas mileage than her truck. We made a quick stop at Wal-Mart for some groceries and supplies.

And that was our day. We had lots of laughs and enjoyed almost every moment of the day! I was so exhausted last night that I slept 11 hours. I guess I needed it! ha

Hope everyone else is having a great weekend!

Finally Friday

YAY! It's FINALLY FRIDAY! Has anyone else felt like this week went on...and on...and on? It was madness at work! I'm so thankful it's come to an end and the weekend is here.

It's been almost a month since I last blogged, so I thought since I'm sitting here enjoying this amazing, relaxing evening I should write a little about what's been going on.

The last time I wrote, I had just returned from our weekend trip to Purdue. Honestly, there hasn't been much of note going on since then, but I'll try to recap.

The first Friday night of February, the Menchhofer family got together to celebrate my cousin Jacob's birthday. He managed a weekend home (he's the Navy guy) and we all surprised him with a family dinner for his belated birthday. Several friends joined us as the night went on and we shared LOTS of laughs.

The second Friday of February, I made a trip down to Florence so I could take my Cruze in for the first 5,000 mile oil change/maintenance. I was glad it was a quick trip down and back. The Cruze is in great condition and ready for many more miles! :)

This weekend we are headed to Indy to help Jenna celebrate her 26th birthday (belated!). Her birthday was this past Sunday, but she was in Bloomington for a swing dance exchange, so the party got bumped to this Saturday. A group of us (the same ones who celebrated last year) are meeting at Scotty's Brewhouse for lunch. Mom and I are gonna spend the day with Jen doing some shopping (more info on that AFTER the weekend). ;)

If you live in Indiana...you've probably been enjoying the fabulous spring-like weather the past few days! I know I have been...and so has Toby! I've opened my bedroom windows nearly every night to enjoy the breeze. Here's Toby enjoying the sunshine:


In other news (since several of you are great about asking me, seriously - THANKS for being motivators)....I have lost 12 pounds in the past 4 weeks! I've been exercising 6 days a week and eating healthy. I've been doing Weight Watchers online to track my food. It's really no wonder you lose weight when eating good foods that fill you up instead of junk. Most days I have a hard time eating all my daily points. This weekend I will unfortunately eat all those points and then some...haha...but it'll be worth it. Not like we go out to eat every day for a birthday celebration!

Anyway, until then I'll leave you with a few of my current favorite songs....

1. Pretty Girl Rock - Keri Hilson
2. Valerie - Glee Cast
3. Shake - Jesse McCartney
4. I Do - Colbie Caillat
5. Keep Your Head Up - Andy Grammer

Boiler Town

Well, so much for my resolution to do a better job of blogging! haha I can't believe I haven't had anything to tell in the past month!?! *sigh*

On one hand, I'd like to state that I have been doing a good job with my New Year's goals...so yay me! haha

And now for a few pictures from my recent trip to my alma mater, Purdue!! :) Oh how I love West Lafayette and all that is Boilermaker country. Seriously. I cannot get enough of that place! It's no wonder I have consistently been trying to land a job at Purdue ever since I graduated. ha So if you know anyone who would hire me up there, help me out! haha (No really, I'd move back in a heartbeat!)

Okay, anyway....the trip started out just as a one-night deal to visit our cousin (also Erin, or as the family calls her, E2). E2 is currently back at Purdue, for this semester, to finish her graduate degree. Since her husband is in the military and going through yet another training school, she is there living in an apartment with their sweet dog Leo (who does not like apartment living all that much). Jenna & I easily talked E2 into a Cactus trip...we needed some Piano Bar in our lives! ha ;) All I can say about that (in retrospect) is that I never did learn how to pace myself when there because the drinks are sooooooooooooooo good AND soooooooooooooooo cheap! It was a long night....one in which I was probably in the worst shape I've ever been in after drinking. *insert sad face & laughter* Just a few days before we were ready to head up to West Laffy, I found out the Athletic Office still had Michigan State tickets for that weekend, and was able to score some! It was an AWESOME game and if you didn't tune in for the Boiler WIN, you missed a rowdy and rockin' good time! I am still getting my voice back nearly a week later! haha The Paint Crew was tweeting the decibel levels throughout the game and it stayed between 100-115 decibels the entire time...it's no wonder when we made it back to Indy at about 1am Sunday morning to sleep, that my ears were still ringing in the silence of Jen's apartment. :p

E1, E2, Jen at the Neon Cactus

E1 & E2

Jen

LOVE Bruce & The Doctor!

our buddy Leo

Game time...Blackouts are the BEST!

Happy New Year!

I'm sitting at home, in my pajamas...preparing to ring the new year in while the rest of the house sleeps and I'm watching tv. The year is definitely going out in a most undesired way. I still cannot eat anything more than soft foods/liquids, plus I'm on antibiotics which means no alcohol. I actually thought I might be out tonight...but since I'm in this sad state, it was a no go.

I started to think about New Year's Resolutions and how I rarely tend to stick to any! Here's a list of things I'm hoping to accomplish in 2011...

1. Be Healthy - Not just lose weight, but exercise because I enjoy it. Make better food choices. Drink more water. Pick up a dust rag more often and plug in the vacuum.

2. Simplify - It's time to downsize some of the chaos in my life (aka STUFF). I am an organizational nut and lately, my stuff has been completely out of order and it's driving me crazy. On top of needing to clear out my personal space, mom and I are going to attempt to reorganize the storage room upstairs again since we can no longer walk in the door.

3. Get More Sleep - I know it kind of goes along with being healthy, but whenever I start to skip sleep...I end up getting sick. Case in point, this past week. I should have known it was coming because my body tried to tell me by taking naps (which I never do), always being sleepy, but I ignored it and bam! I've been dealing with a cold on top of healing from wisdom teeth surgery.

4. Learn Something New - Not sure what this will be yet! haha Whether it's learning to knit or picking up some other useful skill or maybe honing my cooking skills. Suggestions appreciated.

5. Take More Pictures - Most people would say I already take too many pictures, but there are so many times that I regret not having pulled the camera out of my purse and snapped a photo! There are moments in life I just don't want to miss out on.

6. Look For Love - Or at least find some likes! ;) Since moving back to my hometown, I have not done a very good job of putting myself out there or being open to new possibilities. If someone invites me out to dinner, I'll go...who knows what will happen. Maybe nothing. But if a spark does occur, it wouldn't be a bad thing!

7. Travel - After getting my tax papers together (yes, I know...how sad is it that I'm already prepared for this?) I noticed how much money I spent on stuff that I didn't 100% enjoy. This year my goal is to spend more money on experiences I'll remember, whether it's traveling by myself again or finding others to go along. We're already looking at a family vacation to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico or the Bahamas in early July...and I'm thinking another big trip (maybe one of the European countries?) may be in order next Christmas.

8. Enjoy Life - I'm a stresser. Naturally, I freak out about things I cannot control. This does not bode well for a stress-free life. I'm going to do my best not to let the little things bother me.

9. Continue to Build Financial Freedom - Being debt free was a huge step in 2009, continued into 2010. I want to continue doing what I can to save money and build a nest egg for the future. And in this mode, I will continue to work hard in everything that I do...whether it's at one of my professional jobs or one of the side jobs.

Happy New Year! Hope you hold firm in your resolutions for 2011! May it be your best year yet!

Wisdom Teeth

Well, I officially belong to the "I've had my wisdom teeth removed" club! ha

Yesterday afternoon, mom sat and waited to be my designated escort home from oral surgery. I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed, 2 of them were partial bone impacted, meaning they had to cut them out of my jawbone in the back. Yay fun, right? haha All in the all, the procedure didn't take more than an hour from start to finish, including me getting loaded up in the car to come home. The crazy thing is, they did this all day....we saw probably 10 people go in and out while we were there. I so went into the wrong field! haha :p

I remember them hooking up the heart monitors, the blood pressure cuff, making me put on the oh-so-cute hair bonnet, covering me with a towel and the usual dental towel (you know that lays on your chest and is hooked with a chain around your neck?)...I even remember Dr. Bergman (Rajean, I so wanted to ask if he knew Bob or Doug! ha) coming in and putting the IV in my arm and laying that arm against my side. Him and the nurse asked if I was feeling the drugs and I mumbled yes....and the next thing I know...they are unhooking gadgets from me and telling me to take big deep breaths through my nose. hahaha Fun stuff.

I am still a little swollen, and I have a fat lip, but other than that...I seem to be recovering. I've not been in too much pain (knock on wood), but I have been faithfully using the ice pack head wrap and taking my antibiotics and baby aspirin. I figured there was no point in paying for the pain meds at the pharmacist because I'd never be able to function if I took them. I have just been doubling what I normally take for a migraine and seem to be okay.

I have not been sleeping very well...about an hour or two at a time. This is mostly due to the fact that I have a cold. My nose is all stuffed up and I get a slight cough when my throat gets dry, but it's been somewhat manageable. It would be better if I could blow my nose, but I feel the pressure in my stitches when I barely try to blow my nose, so I'm kind of a leaky faucet for now. Attractive, huh?

I am lucky because this week my work is on a paid holiday shutdown, so it's a free week of vacation normally. At least I didn't have to use up any real vacation days to do this and I have the rest of the week to rest. One of the other doctors at the clinic, Dr. Forbes, told me I could go out for New Year's Eve with friends if I wanted to, but I'm thinking I will probably spend the night at home. The only thing I really want to be able to do....is go out to eat with mom! Liquids and soft foods are not my idea of surviving.....hahahaha

Hope you all have a wonderful week!